Rip (Elite Bratva Brotherhood)

I went into this book thinking it would be a little side story. As a matter of fact, somehow I skipped it & didn’t think I was missing much. Since we know & have seen Nikolai so much in other books, I wasn’t expecting such depth & sooooo many secrets. I should’ve known better with RVD, ha. I absolutely loved Nik & Maya’s story. They might be one of my favorites so far. Their love is so intense & deep seated & just seems so real. I was so eager to get to the end bc I wanted to know what happened, but I didn’t want it to end. So glad I read this one.

When reading the eagle elite series there was an introduction and reoccurring appearance made by Russian mafia character know as Nikolai/ " the doctor " That was always a mystery and there was just something about the character that always left me wanting to know more of who he was. RIP allows you to see who Nikolai is as a person.. the demons and darkness he faces within the Russian mafia and his family's haunting legacy. With all the darkness there is a light the overcomes his darkness with the help and love from Maya. I also loved that Rachel incorporated the five families as I can never get enough of them but it was nice to see the side of a Russian mafia character.. although I truly believe Tex has a good point..... Nikolai is more Italian mafia than Russian. I hope that there will be books about Nikolai and maya and there connection to the five families.

>Book Review – RIP>I am an independent reviewer. This book is the 1st in the Elite Bratva Brotherhood series and ends in an HEA. Maya is the half-sister to Andi and Phoenix. She is unaware of that fact, though. She is sold to Nikolai by her father. Nikolai is able to manipulate memories and hypnotize people. He has met Maya previously, but she doesn’t remember. Why he knows her and what she doesn’t remember is slowly revealed as the story goes on.>The 5 Italian bosses are all present and violently funny as usual. The absolute violence in the lifestyle is front and center. Maya and Nikolai learn to navigate their relationship while literally under fire. This book is appropriate for an adult audience. I am giving this book 5 stars.

This book tells the story of Maya and Nikolai. At first, it seems that the story will be a straightforward forbidden love story, with the young, naive Maya, falling for the older, dangerous, Nikolai. While all of that is true, this story was anything but straightforward.Early on, Maya is sold to Nikolai by her father, a Russian mob boss. Why Nikolai wants Maya is somewhat vague, but it is obvious that the two have a past. That past is slowly pieced together through flashbacks and memories that eventually come to the surface.Once their past connection is made clear, Nikolai's intentions still remain unclear where Maya is concerned. Furthermore, his entire life is shrouded in mystery. Obviously, he's a dangerous man, but there is far more to him than meets the eye.With the Russian mob, the Italian Mafia, and a serial killer on the loose there was plenty of action in this book. I couldn't figure out how everything connected. Honestly, I'm still not sure that everything does fit together.I was trying to figure out what was going on, right to the very end. The suspense was killing me! Even knowing that some big revelations were coming, I didn't expect the twists at the end.Some of the big story elements were pretty unbelievable. However, I wasn't put off by this. The story kept me intrigued and I enjoyed the story, regardless. It wasn't as dark as I'd anticipated, but it was a great story.

Rachel Van Dyken has done it again, she is the queen of mafia romance, and Rip is absolutely stunning!If you've read the Eagle Elite series by Rachel then you have met Nik (The Doctor) and Petrov (the evil ruler of the Russian mafia). Rip is Nik's story (a stand alone), and brings a ton of things to light. When Maya (Petrov's daughter) is "sold" to Nik for a year, she has no clue what is going on, or why her idol is now her "owner" and she can have no life outside of her work. Nik and Maya have a history, but only Nik knows and to let Maya find out would mean death for both of them.Things quickly get out of hand between Nik and Maya. She pushes his buttons more than anyone else has, and as much as Nik wants to stay away, he can't. The chemistry between these two is HOT and the way they seem to push each other brings out some laughs when things are definitely crazy. Since this book is told in a dual POV we get to see Nik's thoughts and figure out things way before Maya does. Having Nik's point of view really helped put everything that was going on and why he was the way he was with her into perspective.I loved Nik's character, even though he was kind of evil, and has done some pretty awful things. He may have been a cold-hearted killer, but once he found something worth gaining a conscience for, he became more than that, and I adored that about him. Maya's character was full of strength and was a pure spit-fire. She fought Nik tooth and nail about things, and refused to told what to do. She brings the light into Nik's world, and embraces who she is when the truth finally comes out.The plot of this story kept me on my toes the entire time. The relationship between Nik and Maya had me frustrated (I wanted them together ASAP) and the other darker, edgier elements of this book.. outstanding. Rip is definitely edgy, dark, gritty and raw. Rip is definitely not for the faint of heart. You may ask how can Nik be a book boyfriend to swoon over, especially with the things he's done, but after reading this, he's up there with my favorite fictional mafia men!There is a ton that happens in this book that really can't be written into a review without majorly spoiling the story. I will say though this book sucked me in from the first few sentences and refused to let me do anything until it was over. I laughed, I cried, I may have become a bit squeamish in parts, and I fell in love. This story is one that will stick with me for a long time after reading. Nik and Maya's story is beautiful and I really hope we get to see more of them in future books by Rachel Van Dyken.

I have had this on my kindle since it was first released, and this is the first time I have read it! I am now hanging my head in shame!It was during my current reread of The Elite series, it dawned on me that I'd forgot to read this book. So now I have finished the series (awesome books!) I decided it was time to read Rip, and boy was it good. Nikolai is one clever and depraved man. Reading about his skills is quite scary, and I can only imagine the amount of research that Rachel Van Dyken had to do for this.Maya is a brilliantly written character. She starts out, quiet and innocent, in spite of of her upbringing. She develops into another strong female lead and the process is so subtle.The book is very well written and the level of detail makes this book both horrifying and engrossing.

RIP is another amazing book in Rachel Van Dyken's arsenal of outstanding storylines. No-one quite writes Mafia like her and in this stand-alone book we are treated to Nikolai and Maya, two Russians who set about to save each other's souls, with the help of some Italian favourites along the way!I was initially torn about this book. It didn’t start in the same vein as other Rachel Van Dyken books but instead had a slow and deliberate feel to it. Despite that, it did keep my attention, albeit tentatively, until I realised that this was going to be a side-story to the Eagle Elite series and once that happened *BANG* the story picked up and pulled me in at an alarming rate. Irrespective of how the story initially started though, I loved the characters right from the beginning. Nikolai was a dream of man with his mysterious, dark and Jekyll/Hyde ways which were complemented beautifully by Maya’s innocence and locked away secrets.Overall, this story had an altogether darker feel and intensity to it than the Eagle Elite series which, despite it’s Mafia theme still maintained a light-hearted feel to it. RIP, by comparison was more blatantly gruesome and bloody and until the Italians arrived, had me wondering if I was reading a horror story!Nik’s character was a complex mess and I loved him. He was initially cold and calculating but then an altogether softer side appeared as you began to see how his connection with Maya wasn’t completely new. Maya, is bewildered as to why Nik has singled her out and despite not trusting him, starts to push his buttons and slowly but surely breaks down the wall he has firmly placed around him.So yes, for me, the Italians added an altogether unexpected, but wonderful, element to the book and in that light, did draw my opinion of the story into a more positive direction. I would have liked to have made an independent judgement of the book without their influence in order to see how Nik and Maya and their twisted and deep-rooted connection panned out without being distracted with Tex, Nixon, Phoenix, Chase and Sergio! For me, the Italians took the story from a 4 Star to a 5 Star read and, in some respects, I would have loved to have been able to score the book based on Nik and Maya’s story alone.Phoenix played an unexpected part in this story, as did Sergio, as the Russian and Italian lives crossed paths and I loved their connection despite the obvious mistrust in each other. If you haven’t read the Eagle Elite series before reading RIP, I highly recommend it. You will get to see the Italian characters in a different light and in a lot more delicious detail!

Although Rip can be read as a stand alone, I think the last section of the book would make more sense if you had already ready the Eagle Elite series.I love Rachel's books with a passion most would be well worn copies if they were in paper back instead of on my kindle. I have read almost everything Rachel has published with the exception of her period novels ( I am saving them). Rachel's books are like my haven from reality but this book isn't one of them sadly, The beginning of the book was just plain confusing and I only persevered with it because of Rachel's usual standard, the book did pick up and the ending was awesome but sadly I feel that was more because of the Elite boys appearance rather than that of Nik and Maya.Maya felt a bit wishy washy I mean who in their right mind gives up after the first hurdle and goes ok I have been kidnapped and i'll stay for a year!!! Even Tracey wouldn't of put up with that s***. She didn't even try and escape once!This is still worth a read but its just not the gripping fast paced awesomeness we have come to expect from Rachel. ( sorry I still love you though)

I have read several books by this author in this series and in my humble opinion this one lets them down.I felt constantly lost reading this book, never really understanding what was going on. I get suspense in a book, but there should still be some linear understandable plot that the reader isn't constantly scratching their head about.I tried to like the characters, but the secrecy here as well really prevented any connection.Finally at the 75% mark I gave up. Just not enjoyable at all.

Wow this book was just simply fantastic! Both maya and Nikolai were wonderful characters and I really do hope we get to see them again! I liked how RvD brought in the Italian mafia crew into the story and now I shall be reading the eagle elite series I can't wait!This story had many twists and turns but it was enthralling and a great plot line to the end. Definitely a list read!